Website Wednesday: Women and Weight

All of a sudden, my winter weight got exposed to summer heat. It wasn’t supposed to happen that way; any woman can tell yo that. You’re supposed to start feeling some warmth in the air, shed your winter outer garb for sweaters and such and before the “Oh boy, I’m not going to be fitting in my bathing suit which I need this afternoon” moment you have about a month to succeed or fail in that annual rite-of-spring diet.

But it didn’t happen that way this week. I even have a picture of me wearing a warm jacket and scarf just the day before I was bemoaning my “winter arms” as I looked for a sleeveless top to wear. Oh, cruel fate!

And I don’t mean the fact that my slacks shrunk while hanging in the closet this winter but the fact that in today’s culture women (and I think this is creeping into men’s meme) are so concerned with beauty, youth and most importantly weight.

It wasn’t always that way. Just look at Jean Harlow, Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo or May West; these women had meat on their bones (a truly disgusting image.) Go further back to the “Gay ‘90s” (I mean 1890s) and you’ll see some really hefty women. Of course, google “corset” and you’ll get the garment of torture they wore back then for their hourglass figures.

Fast forward to present time. I was reading catalogs for J. Jill and Lord & Taylor yesterday. All are filled with thin, young women, all belying the fact that the eyes looking at these images are such varied human shapes, most often heavier, less kempt, and thus less worthy. (Aside: J. Jill used to have a gray-haired model which I thought was so progressive. Not any more. I hope she’s OK since I know gray hair is one step away from the grave.)

And now, if you’ve read this far, you’ll probably wondering: Where is she going with this? I know I am. At one time, I was considering a health website for today; one of the zillion on the web which are so similar to a magazine’s “10 Steps to Rid 10 Pounds.”

But why? You, I, women know that so many of us are obsessed with weight. Why hit ourselves on the head with yet another website which tells us we are not worthy?

And then I thought of the metaphor of the eye of Sauron: It’s up there; it’s looking for food; let’s try and move it’s attention away. So when that craving hits you for the type of food which only brings calories to the plate; when that depression hits you because you know you’ve failed with another diet; when that rationale arrives that seduces you into believing you deserve that sweet, divert your eye from the fridge to Listverse, The Universe of Lists at:

http://listverse.com/

Set the timer. They say it takes about 15 minutes for food cravings to stop so read slowly.

The site greets you with: Welcome to Listverse, the most popular top 10 site in the world. Thanks to daily updates and insight into the bizarre and fascinating aspects of life, you will be enthralled.

And ironically, its current first list is: Top 10 Defunct Websites (I used to read Media Whore!)

Keep scrolling through the 56 pages or click “All Lists.”

Still hungry? Click forums and “Forum Games” to read (no promise about the decorum of the posts) or “Arcade Games” to play (looks like online games; not top quality but time passers.)

I can’t promise the site’s claim of “you will be enthralled” but it’s an interesting place, more than a time-waster, and it stays current with updates. (Edit: Each list item is followed by a short paragraph.)

Warning: Don’t read: Top 16 Awesome Fast Food Restaurants if you’re hungry.